Luvdisc In Motion
by Idle Stripe
Summary: Happy Valentine's Day! Luvdisc are called the Rendezvous Pokemon because of their strange shape and customs, but how will one stranded Luvdisc help a stubborn Steven show his affection for a Gym attendant? Implied pairings.


_**-Luvdisc In Motion-**_

_**-A 'Pokemon' Valentine's Day fanfiction-**_

=^w^=

**Before We Begin #1: IMPLIED PAIRINGS means just that. They are IMPLIED, or HINTED AT, they are not ACTUAL pairings. **

**Before We Begin #2: Tora's Trainer background is pretty simple – she began as a Coordinator touring the Hoenn and Sinnoh regions, but she retired from the professional circuit to become a Gym attendant in her hometown of Sootopolis City and occasionally roams the regions researching Pokemon history. **

=^w^=

The weather in Mossdeep City was permitting for a beach trip, which is where many people found themselves, either playing about in the water or relaxing on the beach with family, friends and Pokemon. Steven Stone was one such person, his Metagross sitting beside him allowing the sun to glint off its metal body. On his other side was Sootopolis City native Tora, who was laughing as she watched her Swampert dunk her older sister Rune into the water.

"That never gets old," she sighed, wiping an imaginary tear off her cheek, "Thank you for inviting us to Mossdeep to watch the Luvdisc, Steven."

"That's alright, Tora. I heard that the Luvdisc had bypassed Sootopolis this year." the Steel Trainer replied as police began to walk up and down the beach yelling 'Out of the water! Out of the water!' Tora shrugged and took a swig from the water bottle sitting beside her thigh.

"The waters weren't warm enough for them this year. Which doesn't really surprise me; the weather's been chilly at home."

"Bet you Pokemon are loving it."

"They only come inside when it's meal time."

"Oi, you two Luvdisc," Rune crossed her arms and smirked at her glaring sister, "They're about to come in." She led the two to the water's edge, where several other people had gathered to watch the splashing a few meters out to sea. Small pink hills bobbed in and out of sight, faint cries of _'Luvdisc! Luvdisc!' _echoing over the gentle waves. Swampert sat beside Tora and put is chin in its hand, bored by all the attention that was being given to the Luvdisc and not to – was that Metagross Trainer holding Tora's _hand_?

Why couldn't it just give him a Hydro Pump and be done with it?

"_Swamp?" _Movement suddenly caught the Mud Fish Pokemon's eye, and Swampert stood up to get a better look. Just behind the Luvdisc was another set of splashing, this one not like anything the Rendezvous Pokemon were cheering people up with. Sharp black fins poked out of the water menacingly, dangerous eyes glowing just underneath the water's surface.

The Luvdisc were in trouble!

"_Swampert! Swampert!" _

"Swampert, what's wrong?" Tora immediately turned her attention from Steven to her Pokemon as it pointed frantically to the fins behind the Luvdisc, "Oh, no..."

"What is it, Tora?" Steven asked.

"The Luvdisc are in trouble. Swampert spotted a group of Sharpedo behind them," The ex-Coordinator pointed out to the black fins, "Rune, we've got to help the Luvdisc."

"_Luvdisc! Luvdisc!"_

"_Sharpedo!" _It was at that point the Sharpedo lunged, jumping out of the water and over the Luvdisc. The heart-shaped Pokemon huddled closer together in fear as the Sharpedo circled around them, occasionally scaring them with what appeared to be a Scary Face attack. One Luvdisc in particular had been targeted by one Sharpedo, its jaws clamped around its back and pulling it away from the group.

"_Luvdisc!" _the Rendezvous Pokemon cried to its friends.

"_Shar..."_ The other Brutal Pokemon used another Scary Face attack to freeze the rest of the Luvdisc in place, their shaking generating small waves that lapped at the underbellies of the Sharpedo. Something suddenly cut through the water between the two parties, and the Sharpedo growled and looked over toward the beach.

"_Swampert..." _Swampert growled menacingly, a Roselia perched on its back.

"_Sharpedo." _the Sharpedo with the Luvdisc in its mouth growled, swimming away toward the beach.

"_Roselia!" _A Magical Leaf attack stopped the Sharpedo in its tracks, the Luvdisc in its mouth flying toward the shocked people standing on the beach. Swampert turned its attention back to the terrified Luvdisc, who were looking between the group of Brutal Pokemon and the Mud Fish Pokemon with a combination of fear and confusion. Opening its mouth, Swampert fired a Hydro Pump attack directly in between the two groups of Pokemon, the wave it created large enough to push the Sharpedo back a few metres. Seeing they were out of danger, the Luvdisc quickly dived underwater and swam away, completely forgetting about the Luvdisc on the beach calling out for them. As the Sharpedo began to go after them, another Magical Leaf attack forced them to swim away, defeated.

"Roselia, Swampert, come back!" Rune yelled from the beach. Swampert quickly swam them both back to their Trainers, where they were greeted by the sight of the injured Luvdisc in Tora's arms, cooing weakly every so often.

"Our best bet would be to get it to Sootopolis City," the Gym attendant said, "Juan has a Luvdisc that can keep it company until Nurse Joy can work out what's wrong with it."

"Are you sure that it'll last the trip?" Rune asked, returning her Roselia. Tora returned Swampert, then turned to Steven.

"Steven, do you think that Metagross can Teleport us to Sootopolis City?" she asked. Steven hid his blush and looked at Metagross, who had a determined look in its eyes.

"_Meta."_ it said.

"I think it can be managed," he replied, "Would you like me to stay for a while and help out?"

"That'd be great. Let's get going." Metagross waited until everyone had a hand on its back before activating its Psychic powers, concentrating on its destination.

=^w^=

"_Luvdisc, the Rendezvous Pokemon. Luvdisc make the branches of Corsola their nests. There is a custom from long ago of giving a Luvdisc as a gift to express one's feelings of love." _

"Well, that's certainly helpful..." Turning away from the computer, Tora looked over at the Steel Trainer at the observation window, "Steven, are you alright?"

"It's the Luvdisc; it seems...sad." he replied. The Gym attendant stood up and looked out the window at the rescued Rendezvous Pokemon. It was bobbing on the water's surface rather tiredly, a forlorn expression on its face. Every so often it would swim over to the bowl of food that was there in the room, nibble on a few pieces, then go back to bobbing forlornly about the water.

Steven sighed. "If only there was a way to track the group it came from..."

"We'd have people trying to catch them left, right and centre. I spoke to Juan about the travelling Luvdisc groups; apparently there are a quite a number of small groups like the one we saw bobbing about the Hoenn waters. If we were to release this Luvdisc into the next group that shows up it might be rejected and who knows what else will happen." Tora explained. Placing a hand on the Steel Trainer's shoulder, she looked at him with a calm expression, "Water-type enthusiasts from Mossdeep and Sootopolis are already tracking the Luvdisc groups' patterns to find the group this one came from."

"What a way to spend Valentine's Day, huh?"

"I'm just lucky I don't have someone I need to spend time away from to try and help this little thing go home." The Luvdisc in the room looked up at the glass suddenly and caught their eyes, swimming over and turning on its side, revealing its heart-shaped body. Its movements seemed...faster...than before, happier.

"Don't Luvdisc have this strange quirk about detecting love?" Steven asked, the blush from earlier burning hotter.

"They have a quirk about being happy around couples _in_ love," Tora replied, a light blush on her cheeks also, "but I'm not sure about –"

"Tora, you have a call. It's your boyfriend from the Sinnoh region," Rune poked her head into the room, "How's the Luvdisc doing?"

"It's fine now, but as soon as we get it home it'll be happy. And for the record, I do not have a boyfriend in the Sinnoh region." The ex-Coordinator shoved at her sister before leaving the room to take the call. Steven watched her go then turned his attention back to the Luvdisc, his disappointment not going unnoticed by Rune.

"You know she'll like it." she said.

The Steel Trainer jumped. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't use Iron Defence around me; you know it doesn't work. I was kidding earlier about Tora's Sinnoh boyfriend; she doesn't have one. When she went over there to help out at the Trainer's School there she met a guy named Roark and they've been friends since." The Grass Trainer walked up to the Steel Trainer and placed her hand on her shoulder, "Stop worrying about what Tora's going to think and just give it to her."

"But I..." Steven sighed, "Alright, when Luvdisc goes home I'll give it to her."

"Not going to fly. You need to give it to her _today_." The word was deliberately emphasised, and Rune smirked at the bright red colour creeping all over his face. Ruffling his hair, she left the room as Tora came back, wiping liquid from her face with a white towel.

"Note to self: visit Juan in a rubber suit..." she murmured, "Any change?"

"Luvdisc came back to the window." The Rendezvous Pokemon had indeed reappeared at the window, its eyes glittering a little more than they were earlier. Swallowing his fears, Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped gift. Tora blinked.

"What's that?" she asked.

"This..." The Steel Trainer sighed, "I was going to give this to you on the beach, but then the whole incident with the Luvdisc and the Sharpedo arose, so..." He thrust the gift into Tora's hands and took a step back as if to await the explosion. Tora blinked again, confused at his behaviour, but carefully unwrapped the gift in her hands. Out tumbled a small jewellery box, and when that was opened she gasped.

"Steven..." Glittering up at her was a small vial of Mystic Water.

"Rhea told me you didn't have one, so I found that for you." Steven said softly, turning his head away to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"Will you put it on me, please?"

The Steel Trainer nearly fell over. "Wh-what?"

"Could you please put this on me?" Tora moved her hair away from her neck and turned around, holding the Mystic Water out. Steven took it with trembling fingers and carefully looped the leather strap over the Gym attendant's head, moving stray strands of her hair out of the way so the necklace could sit comfortably against her neck.

"Ooh, it's a little cold," Tora giggled as the small vial fell against her collarbone, "but it's beautiful. Thank you so much, Steven." To show her gratitude, she looped her arms around the Steel Trainer's waist and hugged him, nuzzling his chest slightly. Steven was frozen in place; all this from a gift?

"Good news! They've found the Luvdisc's original group!" Nurse Joy burst into the room just as the two Trainers stepped apart.

"That's great news!" Tora looked over at the Luvdisc, who was backflipping with joy.

"_Luvdisc!"_ it cried happily.

"Where will they be?" Steven asked.

"They'll be in Sootopolis within three days." the Pokemon medic replied, flouncing out of the room. The ex-Coordinator raised an eyebrow at her behaviour, but shrugged and turned back to the Steel Trainer.

"Let's go get something to eat. My shout, okay?" She smiled at him, and walked out of the room. Steven looked back at the Rendezvous Pokemon still backflipping in the water.

"Show off..." he muttered, walking out of the room after Tora.

=^w^=

"_Luvdisc! Luvdisc!"_

"This must be it." Rune splashed in the water for a few seconds to let the Luvdisc in the water know they were there, then stood up and turned to her sister, "You ready?"

"It's a shame that it has to go back; I would've really liked one of these." Tora replied, laughing at the look on the Grass Trainer's face, "I'm kidding. Looking after Juan's Luvdisc has taught me _more_ than enough about them."

"_Luvdisc!"_ the Luvdisc in her arms said, chirping out to the group approaching the water's edge. They all began chirping back and bouncing about in the water, splashing the Trainers' feet and pant legs.

"_Swampert."_ Swampert said, diving into the water to keep an eye out for any Sharpedo or Carvanha that might want a go at the Luvdisc. Tora carefully approached the water's edge and crouched down, holding the Rendezvous Pokemon in her arms at a distance in case the group was to reject the poor thing. The Luvdisc in the water began to chirp loudly and splash harder, drenching the young woman from head to foot in salt water.

"_Luvdisc!"_ Hopping out of her arms, Luvdisc swam out to meet its friends and familiarise itself with the group again.

"Well, let's hope that next year brings better luck for those guys." Rune said as they dived back underwater and swam away. Tora nodded and wrung her hair out, droplets falling onto the sand between her feet.

"Speaking of 'those guys', have you seen Steven and Ryu? They said they were going to see Luvdisc off." she said, glancing up and down the beach. Rune hid a smile and shook her head, glancing behind her at the two men behind a rocky formation.

"No, I haven't." she replied.

Tora clicked her fingers. "Darn, I was really hoping Steven would be here to help us see off the Luvdisc. I mean, he gave me such a gorgeous present a few days ago; I just wanted to return the favour today..." Fiddling with the Mystic Water around her neck, Tora sighed and followed her sister back up the beach toward the town, casting one last look at the ocean and her Swampert quickly catching up before turning and walking away.

Steven suddenly hit Ryu in the shoulder. "Told you so."

"Darn, there goes my dignity." Fishing in his pocket, Ryu slapped some money into the Steel Trainer's hand and straightened up from their hiding place, stretching out his arms and following the girls back into town, "So what are you going to surprise my sister with tonight?"

"Well...I was thinking of taking her up the volcano to watch the sunset." Steven replied, spying said sister ahead talking to Juan about the Gym, "It's going to make up for Valentine's Day because I –"

"Because you...what?" The Steel Trainer jumped as Tora's voice broke his stupor, his face going red again. Tora folded her arms over her chest as Ryu showed up beside him, looping an arm around his shoulders, "Please tell me you haven't done anything stupid and/or reckless again."

"Steven here has something he'd like to ask you, dearest Stripe. Off you go, Steven." Ryu gave him an 'encouraging' push in the back, and Steven glared at him.

"Uh...I was wondering if you'd like to...if you'd like...will you come watch the sunset on the volcano with me tonight?" He mentally berated himself for sounding pathetic, "I mean..._would_ you come watch the sunset on the volcano with me?"

"Sure, I'd love to." Tora pressed a kiss to his burning cheek, then disappeared inside the Gym with Juan.

Ryu whistled. "Luvdisc in motion...such a romantic thing."

"Shut up." Steven hissed. But he couldn't shake the feeling that Luvdisc really _did_ have powers over love...

=^w^=

**Author's Note: I don't care if it's a Japanese anime/manga/card game/whatever; I'm using the Western Valentine's Day schtick. **

=^w^=

_**DISCLAIMER: The disclaimer applies to the characters and settings of the 'Pokemon' series – Satoshi Tajiri – the Pokedex description for Luvdisc – Pokemon: Emerald – and Tora Altona – me. **_


End file.
